


The Art and Abuse of Transformation

by triste



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-21
Updated: 2012-11-21
Packaged: 2017-11-19 05:05:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/569427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/triste/pseuds/triste
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I'd know those lugholes anywhere, they're nowhere near as big as they should be. What have you done to them?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Art and Abuse of Transformation

Title: The Art and Abuse of Transformation  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Merlin  
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin  
Rating: PG  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

Arthur has never been particularly perceptive. That's why it comes as a surprise to Merlin when the first thing Arthur says to him is, "You look different today."

He's right of course, but Merlin initially tries to fob him off.

"You're imagining things," he insists.

Arthur continues to stare at him curiously. "No, I'm not. You're definitely different. Is it me or are your ears looking smaller than usual?"

"They're the same size they've always been," says Merlin.

Arthur isn't buying it.

"I'd know those lugholes anywhere, they're nowhere near as big as they should be. What have you done to them?"

"I haven't done anything!" But Merlin has never been good at lying, especially to Arthur, so he comes clean. "All right, I admit it. I've been practising spells to change my appearance."

Arthur raises his eyebrows. "You can *do* that?" Then he shakes his head. "Obviously, or else you wouldn't be standing in front of me with ears that actually look normal."

Merlin shrugs. "It was only an experiment. I'm just glad it worked. Not all of my spells tend to be so successful, but I thought I'd start with something easy. Shrinking my ears isn't nearly as difficult as transforming the whole of my body. I'll have to take it in stages, work my way up."

"And what are you planning on eventually turning yourself into?" says Arthur in amusement.

"I haven’t figured that out yet," replies Merlin. "But it's a useful spell, wouldn't you say?"

It's also not a lasting one. Merlin's ears are back to normal the next morning, much to his disappointment, but he decides to keep working at it.

~~

Merlin's next attempt at transformation results in him growing a beard, a very long one that reaches all the way down to his waist. Arthur finds it hilarious, but then it's his fault anyway for calling Merlin a girl and claiming even the twelve-year-old stable boys can grow a better beard than him.

Just because it's true doesn't make it any less annoying, so Merlin proves he has the masculinity Arthur seems to think he so sorely lacks by magically sprouting lots of facial hair.

"You look ridiculous," Arthur gasps out, breathless from laughter. "You could sweep the *floor* with that thing!"

Merlin scowls. Altering his own appearance is risky enough. As much as he would like to alter Arthur's right now, he knows he'd never dare.

"Is this going to be a regular occurrence?" says Arthur, glancing at Merlin's beard and breaking into snickers again. "I can't wait to see what you come up with next."

"This is serious research," Merlin tells him primly. "You shouldn't make fun of it."

Arthur keeps laughing, but Merlin has learned his lesson. He won't reveal any of his future attempts to Arthur. Not if he only ever gets this kind of response from him.

~~

The more he practises, Merlin discovers, the better he gets. Over the next few days he grows his hair as long as the beard he'd given himself. He manages to change its colour to red, to blond, even to grey. He gives himself perfect teeth, changes his shoe size, makes his shoulders broader and more muscular. As with his ears, however, the effects don't last long. Altering his appearance takes a lot of effort and concentration. It's not easy for Merlin to maintain that, undisciplined as he is.

Time goes by, and Merlin's confidence grows. He at last reaches a point where he feels ready to attempt his first full body transformation.

"So," smirks Arthur one evening, "grown any more beards lately?"

"I've been making excellent progress in my studies," Merlin says loftily. "I was actually thinking of switching genders tonight."

Arthur sits up straighter. "Oh really? Can I watch?"

Merlin tilts his head to the side, pretending to consider his response. "I'm not sure you'd want to. I can't imagine it would be terribly entertaining."

Arthur slaps him on the back. "Have confidence, Merlin. You're already a woman in mind. Becoming one in body shouldn't be too much effort."

He's probably going to regret this, Merlin thinks, but he goes along with it anyway. He takes a deep breath and focuses, and he knows he's pulled it off when he hears Arthur's approving whistle.

"Has anyone ever told you you're a genius?" says Arthur.

"Gaius might have, once or twice," says Merlin, not bothering to hide his smugness.

He looks down at himself, taking in his new appearance. Arthur does too, although his eyes seem somewhat incapable of taking in anything other than Merlin's breasts.

"Can you make them bigger?" he asks hopefully.

Merlin thinks he's probably going to regret this as well, but he magically inflates his bust until Arthur is practically drooling.

"This is a good spell," he states, reaching out and testing the weight and firmness of Merlin's new appendages in his palms. "A *very* good spell."

Sadly for Arthur, it only lasts about twenty minutes. Merlin is naked in Arthur's bed when his female form shifts back into his male form, and it's something of an insult when Arthur's earlier interest in sex immediately evaporates.

"Don't sulk," Merlin admonishes. "I told you, I can only maintain this appearance for a certain amount of time. That I could do a full body transformation at all is an achievement in and of itself."

Arthur doesn't share this opinion. He just mopes and mumbles resentfully about being cruelly denied the opportunity of "conquering the slopes of Mount Merlin."

Merlin doesn't comment. He's too busy feeling rather dirty all of a sudden.

~~

It's slightly disturbing how Arthur can be simultaneously childlike and perverted over the use of Merlin's magic. He wants to find out what else Merlin can turn himself into, and although Merlin supposes he can become an inanimate object in theory, he doesn't necessarily warm to the idea.

"Turn yourself into a weapon," Arthur urges, "like a crossbow, for example. Better yet," he adds, his eyes lighting up, "you could turn yourself into a *sword*."

But Merlin really doesn't think he wants to no matter how enthusiastic Arthur is about this. He can't rid himself of the mental image of becoming something sharp and pointy only to revert to his normal self while Arthur is still wielding him and finding himself not as Merlin the sword, but rather Merlin the person and being swung around by his ankles as Arthur bashes him against practise dummies.

Arthur makes the suggestion of Merlin turning himself into something that isn't human, but unlike an inanimate object, alive. In short, an animal.

This idea is much better, so Merlin gives it a try. To begin with, he has to pick an animal form to become. He's never cared for dogs. Cats are preferable, but Merlin chooses in the end to become a bird. He's always wanted to fly. He's positive it would be much more fun than the ability to move objects at will.

And so Merlin turns himself into a swan. Becoming something non-human is a lot more difficult than simply altering his own appearance or swapping genders, and for the first time since Merlin started his experiments, everything goes horribly wrong.

He gets the wings right, but that's about it. The rest of him hasn't become remotely swan-like except for his voice. For some reason, he can't talk. The only thing he can do is honk. It's the kind of noise swans make, Merlin admits, but he really needs to speak human words in order to reverse the spell. Without words, the only thing Merlin can do is wait for his body to shift back into its original form on its own.

Arthur, once he's stopped being alarmed, finds it even funnier than the beard incident. The more Merlin honks at him to shut up, the more he laughs. Merlin gets fed up and storms out of Arthur's chambers, or at least he tries to. His wings get stuck in the doorway, and he sends feathers flying everywhere when he flaps them irritably.

Arthur actually falls off his chair, he's laughing so hard. Merlin is not amused. The only reason he does these experiments is because he enjoys being able to impress Arthur. His magic is supposed to be useful to Arthur, supposed to save his life. It is definitely not supposed to make him laugh until he's sick.

~~

Merlin returns to practising in the privacy of his own room after that. A swan was probably too big, he concedes, so he tries turning himself into a sparrow. When that works, he tries turning himself into a hedgehog. He's so happy he has to show off to Arthur, but things don't exactly go according to plan when he shuffles inside Arthur's chambers.

"How did you get in here?" asks Arthur, crouching down and poking Merlin with the toe of his boot. Merlin desperately hopes Arthur isn't going to kick him, or worse, stamp on him, because he's really very tiny at the moment and that would hurt a lot. "It's bad enough Merlin lets my rooms get infested with rats. The last thing Camelot needs is a plague of bloody hedgehogs."

If Merlin's jaw could have dropped, it would have. Arthur clearly hasn't recognised him.

"It's me!" he wants to shout, but he's forgotten hedgehogs can't talk.

It's a good thing Arthur is careful when he picks Merlin up to get a closer look at him, because on top of being tiny at the moment, he's also very prickly.

"What a manky little bugger," Arthur says. Merlin wants to bite him, but he holds himself in check. In any case, he has more important things to do.

It's not much of a leap from Arthur's hand to the table where he's been doing paperwork, but it is a challenge how Merlin is going to pick up his pen and write something to tell Arthur it's him. It's too big. He can't pick it up in his mouth. He can't even hold it in his paws.

Instead Merlin dips himself in ink under Arthur's bemused gaze. Slowly, deliberately, he makes strokes with his right paw that spell out P-R-A-T under Arthur's recently completed report on the training of his knights.

Arthur blinks in astonishment.

"I've just been insulted by a hedgehog."

Merlin wants to bite him again. He can't believe Arthur is being so thick, so he tries to write some more. He's almost finished spelling out T-O-S-S-E-R when Arthur scoops him up.

"Stop that," he says sternly. "You're making a mess."

Merlin can only despair. He realises it's probably his own fault for not simply spelling out his name to clue Arthur into his real identity, but he couldn't help himself. Arthur has been exposed to far too much magic lately if he doesn't even bat an eyelid over hedgehogs in possession of human intelligence. Either that or he's stupider than Merlin thought.

"Out you go," orders Arthur, setting Merlin down on the floor. "Get moving. Shoo."

Merlin doesn't need to be told twice. He leaves a trail of inky paw prints behind him as he scuttles off that he knows he's going to have to clean once he's back to normal. It only makes him angry and determined to change himself into something more magnificent and awe-inspiring next time.

~~

Merlin can't think of a more majestic creature than a unicorn. It's why he turns himself into one two weeks later. He does it in front of Arthur where he can see, unwilling for a repeat of the hedgehog fiasco. Arthur's reaction to Merlin's animal self this time is far more gratifying than when he last viewed Merlin in non-human form.

"You look just like the real thing," he says, running a hand over Merlin's mane. "You *feel* just like the real thing."

It's actually quite nice to have Arthur petting him. It's better still to be a lot bigger and stronger than he is. That's what makes it so tragic for Merlin when Arthur has to ruin the moment by smacking his rump and making a lewd joke about riding him.

Merlin doesn't hesitate to bite Arthur this time. He also contemplates stabbing him with his horn. He decides against it, but only because he's such a terrible healer. Besides, unicorns are meant to be pure of heart. They also don't go around maiming idiot royals.

~~

After that, Merlin sticks with human transformation. He turns himself into a double of Morgana at Arthur's request, and then a double of Gwen. He knows he ought to be wary when Arthur asks for a double of himself. He's proven right when he spends the rest of the afternoon taking Arthur's place for a long and boring meeting while Arthur goes off hunting.

"Have you ever wondered," says Arthur later that evening, when he comes back with his spoils and Merlin is released from the great hall, "what it would be like to make love to yourself?"

"I hope you're not implying what I think you're implying," replies Merlin, vaguely disturbed by the way Arthur is looking at him.

"I *am* fabulously handsome," Arthur points out.

"And apparently narcissistic," says Merlin.

"It would certainly be an interesting experience."

"I’d rather call it traumatising."

Uncharacteristically, Arthur relents. "Fine. But you have to show me your woman's body instead. And give yourself enormous bosoms."

Arthur is going to turn him insecure, Merlin convinces himself. Or maybe insane, but he goes with the flow once again. He isn't doing anything to protect Arthur with his magic, but at least he can please him with it. The only consolation is Arthur will eventually get bored with too much variety and want Merlin for who he is instead of who or what he can be.

End.


End file.
